Bexleyheath Busageddon

Saturday 20th January 2018 was somewhat significant in the typical calendar of a bus enthusiast, given that four routes changed operator on this day, all in the same area. Go-Ahead London surrendered routes 422 and B14 to Stagecoach, along with the 401 to Arriva. The latter company have also inherited routes 99 and 269 from Stagecoach, with the only notable success for Go-Ahead being the retention of route B16 with its existing Enviro 200s. Five out of the six routes have already undergone their contract renewals or changes, with the B14 set to occur on Saturday 3rd February 2018 - this change will be covered in a separate post. This document will talk about routes 99, 269, 401 and 422 individually, giving comparisons between the operators and my general thoughts on the services on my trip to sample them.

Stagecoach London 12352 represents the old face of the 99.

Given that the terminus points of route 99 are Woolwich and Bexleyheath Shopping Centre, you might initially think that this route is rather short in nature. However, the 99 is probably one of the most indirect double deck routes found in the London bus network. After navigating a lengthy tour of Woolwich Town Centre (this only happens heading towards Bexleyheath), the 99 takes a fairly straight path through the urban high street of Plumstead, before tackling some challenging hills in the fairly rural approach to Erith, completely ignoring the right turns that would take the 99 straight to Bexleyheath. The 99 pauses at Erith Town Centre, before almost heading back on itself down through Barnehurst and Slade Green in order to terminate at Bexleyheath - this section is extremely residential and involves traversing a ridiculous number of side routes in a short amount of time, which can feel relentless towards the end. Nevertheless, the section between Woolwich and Erith is so enjoyable, offering a huge contrast between the major town centres and countryside like feel of the villages around Bostall Heath, with vehicles frequently being put to the test by the demanding nature of the roads around there. Although I found the section between Erith and Bexleyheath rather tedious, I'd still recommend riding the 99 ; it might be wise to ignore this part completely and only ride between Woolwich and Erith if you're short on time.

At the moment, a 12-minute frequency is provided on the 99, requiring 14 buses in rush hour. The end-to-end journey time is typically around 60 minutes and in general this route is fairly busy, having both some crowded and quiet times. Stagecoach London previously operated the service from Plumstead (PD) garage, using a variety of vehicle types as a result of flexible allocations. Rarer appearances came in the form of Trident ALX400s, Wrightbus Gemini 3 B5LHs and some of the remaining Scania OmniCity vehicles, although the main diet of the 99 consisted of powerful 64-plate ADL Enviro 400Hs, which suited the route nicely. Coincidentally, these exact vehicles are now being used on the 422, which was also won on Saturday 20th January. Many enthusiasts are upset that Arriva have taken over the 99, presumably because Stagecoach operated the route well and with a capable fleet of buses - some of the Wrightbus Gemini 2 DB300s that Arriva currently use have quite a poor reputation for their lack of power and sluggish nature. Nevertheless, the convenient use of a joint bid and a large pool of existing vehicles on behalf of Arriva managed to undercut Stagecoach's attempt at retaining the service and the contract changeover date, Saturday 20th January, came around pretty quickly after the publication of the tendering results.

Arriva London DW433 is seen at Nuxley Village on route 99.

 Routes 99, 269 and 401 are now all operated from Dartford (DT) garage and a large pool of Wrightbus Gemini 2 DB300 vehicles (numbered DW423-459) are used on all three services, along with a newer DW555 which has randomly transferred there too. The 99 change has also resulted in Dartford (DT) garage claiming every single route in Erith Town Centre, with Go-Ahead and now Stagecoach losing their remaining ones in recent times. I intended to catch the 99 at Nuxley Village on the first day, with a short ride from there to Woolwich. However, my first impressions of the service were lowered significantly when no bus showed up for 18 minutes, typically in this rather rural village during a burst of heavy rain. However, the bus was surprisingly warm on board and it coped with the demanding roads rather well, being fairly quiet considering the large gap in front. It seems that these examples of the DB300s are substantially better than the ones in East London on the 175 and at Tottenham (AR) garage, which is a relief as otherwise they probably wouldn't be able to cope with the tough South-East London services. On the first day, the expected uneven service was omnipresent, with a large number of gaps lasting longer than 20 minutes and lots of buses running close together too - whilst I was waiting in Nuxley Village four passed by heading towards Bexleyheath before mine arrived.

Arriva London DW447 is seen on the 99 to Bexleyheath, Shopping Centre

Since then, the service hasn't shown many signs of improvement, with road closures around Bostall Hill exacerbating the difficulties in developing knowledge of the 99 and how to control it. Ironically, during the week lots of buses have been curtailed to Plumstead Bus Garage, the former home of the 99, something which rarely happened under the contract. There were also some iBus issues with the vehicles for the first few days, resulting in some 'ghost buses' not appearing on LVF. So far, no unallocated vehicles have appeared on the 99, 269 or 401 at Dartford (DT) garage, with the other E400 double deckers that reside there lacking blinds for the three new intakes. Although Arriva have been presented with some difficulties in getting to know the 99, with various service disruptions and a lack of experience in handling the service, I'm pretty confident that there will be an improvement fairly soon, as the garage currently deal with much more challenging routes. Despite the initial scepticism surrounding the ability of the DW-class vehicles, some of them have actually been praised for their good performance up the infamous Bostall Hill and overall it seems that Arriva might be a bearable successor to Stagecoach after all.

Go-Ahead London E207 is seen on route 401 to Thamesmead, under the old contract.

The 401 is much shorter than the other three routes that feature in this post, only taking around 30 minutes to travel between Bexleyheath Shopping Centre and Thamesmead outside of rush hour. It has a 15-minute frequency during the day and soaks uses up to 8 buses at a time. Go-Ahead London previously operated the route from Bexleyheath (BX) garage, with a rather varied allocation consisting of Volvo B7TL President and Gemini buses, along with the newer B9TL Gemini 2s and ADL E400s. Both ends of the 401 are fairly residential, although the middle section is rather interesting and quite enjoyable. After the rural settlement of Nuxley Village, the 401 passes through Belvedere and Picardy Road, which involves a massive hill climb heading towards Bexleyheath, or a stunning view of the River Thames as it nears the estuary and the industrial wasteland at Dagenham and beyond, towards Thamesmead. There's also a quirky little double run into the industrial area at Belvedere, along with a lengthy dual carriageway section until the edge of Abbey Wood. Under the old contract, the running time was fairly tight and I had E207 floored to bits on this section and as the DW-class Gemini's that now run the service seem to have decent potential, it'll be interesting to see how they perform. In general, the 401 is probably the best route out of the four in terms of being consistently entertaining and its variety in surroundings means that there's something for everyone and is perhaps one to check out. Go-Ahead weren't noticeably bad under the old contract, but Bexleyheath (BX) garage have constantly run the 401 since its birth, so the transfer to Arriva was a shock to many, especially as Dartford (DT) garage is so much further than its former home.

Arriva London DW450 is seen at Nuxley Village on the 401 to Bexleyheath.

On Saturday 20th January, I decided to sample the 401 on my back to Woolwich, especially because it conveniently connects with the 99 at Nuxley Village. In terms of reliability, the route was an absolute wreck on the first day, with the service easily being the worst I witnessed out of the four routes, despite it presumably being the easiest one to operate due to its short length and low frequency. My chosen boarding point was the stop at Bexleyheath Clock Tower, which was very popular with enthusiasts as all four changing routes pass there, although on my visit the bus stop was  full with angry 401 passengers instead, who had seemingly been waiting for a very long time - the countdown screen wasn't promising anything better either as it claimed the next bus was 21 minutes away. However, a bunching of two vehicles showed up within a few minutes, with the first one curtailed to Belvedere Police Station, something I find absurd and frankly hilarious as the journey time between Bexleyheath and the aforementioned curtailment point is only around 10 minutes! However, this residential section of the 401 seems to be very popular as almost everyone happily boarded the first bus despite the driver's informative method of communicating the early termination point. I chose to hang back and catch the second one and both of the vehicles certainly weren't hanging around, with both buses being maxed out along the side roads - it would've been interesting to sample them on the dual carriageway. Nevertheless, the quick DWs made my brief 401 journey thoroughly enjoyable, further contradicting the generally negative connotations surrounding these vehicles. After alighting at Belvedere Police Station, I was greeted with more angry passengers intending to catch a bus back to Bexleyheath, who had also been waiting for well over 15 minutes. Another convoy appeared, with no bus afterwards for over 30 minutes, emphasising the shambolic nature of the first afternoon - things seemed to settle down during the evening, much to the relief of regular users.

DW434 represents the curtailment to Belvedere.

 Thankfully, the service has been considerably better throughout the week and Arriva now seem to have good knowledge of the 401 despite the hiccups on the first day. Apart from the fairly lengthy dead runs, the route shouldn't be too challenging for them, especially as the challenging 229 is run very well from Dartford (DT) garage. Although the 15-minute frequency does sound rather low for a route like the 401, it's pretty well-suited to demand, with buses naturally being fairly quiet outside of peak times, although on weekends they seem to carry quite heavy loads. We'll have to hope it avoids a frequency cut from TFL, who have been brutal lately with decreasing routes despite some of them being exceptionally busy at their former frequency. However, the 401 does seem to be pretty successful at shuttling people between Thamesmead and Bexleyheath and hopefully Arriva will be able to match Go-Ahead's standards on the old contract.

Stagecoach London 17857 is seen on the 269 to Bexleyheath Shopping Centre, representing the old look of the route.

 The second route lost by Stagecoach London, from their Bromley (TB) garage, is the 269, although the void at this garage will be partially filled with the arrival of route B14 next week. Running between two major town centres in South East London, the 269 is quite a useful service for locals, almost being a trunk route between Bexleyheath and Bromley. It travels through Bexley, Sidcup, Queen Mary's Hospital and Chislehurst in the process, taking around 45 minutes to complete the journey during the day. It runs every 12 minutes with a peak vehicle requirement of the same number. Out of all the changes, this one was probably the most upsetting for many enthusiasts, as the service under Stagecoach was famous for providing very fast journeys with beastly Trident ALX400s, which are leaving London at a rapid rate. ADL Enviro 400s were also fairly common on the 269 under the old contract and occasionally single deckers had to be used when the route was temporarily diverted under a low bridge at Chislehurst. Unfortunately, my only 269 journey with a Trident was painfully slow, with the driver crawling along throughout the route despite running late. The element of thrash was also probably the only other notable thing about the 269, given that the routeing is rather residential and focussing on that alone simply wasn't enjoyable enough for me. It's a shame I didn't experience one of the faster trips on the 269, especially as the newer DW-class vehicles probably won't be able to reach abnormally high speeds, even if they are above average for their type. Nevertheless, many enthusiasts were forced to bid farewell to the old buses on Friday 19th January 2018, with Arriva taking over the next day.

DW423 is seen at Bexleyheath Library. Interestingly, this is one of only two vehicles in this batch with manual blinds.

The takeover of route 269 has reintroduced Arriva to the area of Bromley, for the first time since last July when they withdrew their commercial 402 service. Like the 99 and 401, the old garage at Bromley (TB) is considerably closer to the route than Dartford (DT), emphasising how significant the joint bid discount and existing vehicles are. Thanks to Southeastern's incompetence (the train left the complicated station at Lewisham early) I wasn't able to sample the 269 on the first day - I simply didn't have time to waste 30 minutes and travel down to Bexley instead. However, I did manage to observe the service running around Bexleyheath and obtain some pictures and in general things are looking promising for Arriva for the 269. This service was easily the best out of the three on the first day in terms of service, with no large gaps at all and the worst problems being a little bit of bunching, which is natural on the first day. The 269 was also heavily affected by the iBus issue on the Saturday, with lots of buses not appearing on LVF or other bus tracking websites, so on the surface it seemed like this route was struggling the most. It seems that this one is quite comfortable already at Arriva and hopefully the locals will appreciate their equally reliable service (Stagecoach were also decent under the old contract), despite the recent frequency reduction, something which isn't ideal for the school rush where this route is hammered with commuting children.

Arriva London DW438 is seen in Bexleyheath on the 269 to Bromley North.

Overall, it's clear that a compromise has occurred with this particular contract change. Most regular users will presumably prefer the newer DW-class vehicles, as the Trident ALX400s did feel a little worn out inside towards the end of the contract, even if their engines were still healthy. However, all the beautiful, thrashy trips that occurred under Stagecoach will probably come to an end, especially if Arriva have followed the trend of increasing the running time with new schedules. Newer buses are often less satisfying to listen to when being driven fast, from an enthusiast's perspective anyway. However, all other aspects of the service are promising and I'd like to wish Arriva good luck in maintaining their excellent start.

Go-Ahead London E238 is seen at Blackheath Royal Standard on the 422 to North Greenwich

Conveniently, Stagecoach have received some sort of compensation after the loss of route 99 from Plumstead (PD) garage, with this site being perfect for the operation of route 422, which they've picked up from Go-Ahead London, who formerly ran the route from Bexleyheath (BX) garage. Having a peak vehicle requirement of 16 buses, the 422 runs every 10 minutes during the day and takes just over an hour from start to finish, being the longest out of the three routes running between North Greenwich and Bexleyheath. The 422 certainly doesn't take the most direct route to Woolwich, serving East Greenwich and Blackheath first, before travelling along the 53-corridor until Woolwich Town Centre. From here, it follows the 96 through Plumstead and to East Wickham, where the 422 turns residential for around 15 minutes until it serves Bexleyheath Station, with the Shopping Centre only being a few minutes beyond. However, this wasn't the original termination point, with buses under the old contract continuing as far as Bexleyheath Bus Garage, owned by Go-Ahead London. Now that Stagecoach run the 422, buses no longer have permission to stand in the depot (although this is very cheeky as Go-Ahead actually use the Stagecoach garage at Catford for route 171!) and this resulted in a cutback, without consultation, to the already overcrowded terminus at Bexleyheath Shopping Centre ; due to space constraints the 422 has to stand on a side road for the time being. 

Under the old contract, Go-Ahead London struggled with running the 422, with the service not being brilliant and often filled with large gaps. Like the 401, it used a mixture of double deck vehicles found at the garage and these came in the form of ADL E400s and Wrightbus Gemini B7TLs and B9TLs, with the former type being the most common from my observations. In terms of my opinion on the route in general, I can't make a proper judgement on the 422 as I haven't actually ridden all of it yet, although the Woolwich-North Greenwich section is most enjoyable with some stunning views of London from Charlton, so hopefully the rest of the route lives up to this standard. This change wasn't particularly upsetting for enthusiasts, with Stagecoach looking more promising in terms of their vehicle fleet and the good reputation Plumstead (PD) garage has for running routes well.

Stagecoach London 12360 is seen at Bexleyheath Shopping Centre, representing the new destination.

In terms of the technical allocation, it's quite a complicated affair. The bulk of vehicles are in the form of 64-reg ADL Enviro 400 E40Hs which have come directly from the 99 and were therefore available from the first day. However, initially Stagecoach London intended to order four brand new Enviro 400 MMCs for the 422 in order to meet the peak vehicle requirement, although this order has been cancelled as there are enough spare buses in the existing fleet. A frequency reduction on route 47 has freed up a few buses at Catford (TL) garage, so two ADL diesel euro 6 Enviro 400s that were formerly allocated to the 136 have transferred down to Plumstead (PD) and now work the 422 on a regular basis, with the 136 using some of the 47s B5LH MMCs in compensation. However, due to the flexible allocations at Plumstead (PD) garage, almost any double decker can appear on any route, although not all of them have been blinded for the 422 yet, so at the moment only E400s and MMCs have worked the route so far, although some Scania OmniCitys and Gemini 3s might sneak onto the route in the future. In terms of their capability, all of the E400s there are wonderful buses, having comfortable seating, a welcoming interior and a powerful engine which is extremely beneficial for tackling this challenging, fast-paced route. It seems that the running time might've been decreased or maintained at the same level as before, as all the buses I sampled were in a hurry to keep to time, despite there being no traffic disruptions. This is quite rare on the London bus network and I'm really glad a tight schedule is still in place on this route, so hopefully when someone completes it from end-to-end they can be presented with a lively journey.

Stagecoach London 12368 is one of the MMCs that has been blinded for the service.

Coincidentally, I ended up on two 422s on my day out, with both of my trips simply happening because the route is useful and it connected to other buses which I needed to snap. My first ride was on an ADL E40H, just between Bexleyheath Station and the Shopping Centre and there was nothing spectacular to report, mostly because the ride was brief and I was busy tracking down one of two E40H MMCs heading the other way. However, this route was also a victim of iBus issues, with the announcements playing "... to Bexleyheath, Shopping Centre", with the absence of a route number. My second ride was much more substantial, on one of the recently transferred ADL E40D vehicles, between Woolwich and Westcombe Park, and I'm pleased to say that the journey was thoroughly enjoyable. Although these buses aren't praised for their power or speed, I found the journey relaxing and it was easily the best bus of the day, having interesting views outside and a quick pace, with the driver putting his foot down where necessary. I also noticed that the service was excellent reliability-wise, with almost perfect headways and no examples of bunching whatsoever, something very rare on a first day, especially with such a difficult route like the 422 - it is arguably much more challenging than the 99, 269 and 401 and perhaps the reason why it didn't struggle is the experience Plumstead (PD) has with challenging and lengthy double deck routes like the 51, 53 and 122. 

Stagecoach London 10205, one of the transfers from Catford, is seen in Westcombe Park.

Throughout the week, the 422 has continued to show off its excellent performance and in general this change can be viewed as the most successful, having a capable fleet of buses which are currently providing a superb service, something which doesn't usually occur in the first week of operation. The only negative aspect is the curtailment from Bexleyheath Bus Garage, with this section occasionally being popular with residents on this side of the town centre, although thankfully there are other frequent routes which they can take. Hopefully, the 99, 269 and 401 can follow the example set by the 422 and become competent under Arriva's operation from Dartford (DT) garage. After all, the first week hasn't been a complete disaster and Saturday 20th January 2018 marked the start of a productive weekend for many enthusiasts, where four operator changes occurred in the same area, something which doesn't happen very often - next week they're scattered all over London, ranging from Cockfosters to Orpington! I'd like to wish Stagecoach and Arriva good luck in operating all four of these routes and perhaps Bexleyheath (BX) garage can pick up some new work after their recent losses. 

Thanks for reading and stay safe!